A selection of highlights from F1 blogs and news sites including speculation on Kimi Raikkonen retiring at the end of the year.

Plus the latest on the new Valencia and Singapore street tracks, Lewis Hamilton samples a hard-tuned Porsche. and Niki Lauda appears on a chat show with a difference.

Kimi Raikkonen to retire this year – There has been speculation for some time that Kimi Raikkonen would not stay at Ferrari if he won a second world championship this year. Following the claims that Fernando Alonso has signed for Ferrari for 2009 these rumours have returned.

Evenstar, I don’t think its so much to do with a couple of bad race, more general speculation for years that Kimi is not as ‘in love’ with F1 as other drivers are/were, e.g. Schumacher and once he has achieved the pinnacle might think ‘what’s the point in staying?’ – although I can’t remember where I read this stuff and may infact have fabricated it!

At the moment, this is all speculation. We will not know Raikkonen’s fate until 2009, at which time his contract would have expired.
Alot, and awful lot, can happen in that time! It depends on the direction Ferrari want to take!
Fernando Alonso is the obvious choice, and the timing would be right for all concerned, but there are others.
If you look, over the last two years, how many new drivers have entered F1, and how many have departed.
This leaves Ferrari with many several options besides
Alonso.
My gut tells me that they will go with Alonso because he is a ‘proven’ investment in terms of speed and talent. Vettel is another person who springs to mind at the moment, but one has to feel that Fernando’s services are being wasted a little at the moment if Renault do not improve between now and next year.

Hmmm Old Charlie Whiting approves of the Valencia Street circuit? Who owns it, by the way?
I know I have said my piece(s) about Kimi, but I still think he is being pushed out of a permenant place at Ferrari by the Todt/Schuey/Massa camp – although I won’t speculate on why, until next year….
One thought for you to ponder – remember that Massa is managed by Jean Todt’s son

But remember that Todt himself is slowly starting to get pushed out of Ferrari by the Italians, led by LDM. So I don’t think it’s Ferrari pushing Kimi out, it’s F1 and the way it works that’s pushing Kimi out because he doesn’t want to do it anymore.

@Journeyer – are you certain Todt has been pushed out? After all he now runs Ferrari Cars, probably without a day to day input on the Scuderia, but he will be party those higher management decisions which can decide the future of a racing team and it’s drivers….

I think Kimi’s retirement rumours are very premature- even if he has had a few bad races, he’s still got plenty left in the tank, and I think he’s gunning for at least one more title. Still, whenever his retirement comes, the one thing we all do know is that it’s going to feature one heck of a party:)

Given how much sponsorship is involved at McLaren, it will be interesting to see if any public flap is made about Hamilton not tearing up California in a Merc. It’s great to hear that at least he and DC spent some time here in the States- it’s just a darn shame they won’t get to race here.